1"I have come
into my garden, my sister, my bride; I
have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I
have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have
drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends;
Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers."

2"I was asleep
but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was
knocking: `Open to me, my sister, my darling,
My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched
with dew, My locks with the damp of the night.'
3"I have taken off
my dress, How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet, How can I dirty them
again?4"My
beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my feelings were aroused for him. 5
"I arose to open to my beloved; And my hands
dripped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid
myrrh, On the handles of the bolt. 6
"I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had
turned away and had gone! My heart went
out to him as he spoke. I searched for
him but I did not find him; I called him but he
did not answer me. 7"The
watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me; The
guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me. 8
"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you
find my beloved, As to what you will tell him:
For I am lovesick."

9"What kind of
beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among
women? What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That thus you adjure us?"

Admiration by the Bride

10"My beloved is
dazzling and ruddy, Outstanding among ten
thousand. 11"His
head is like gold, pure gold; His locks
are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven. 12"His
eyes are like doves Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And reposed in their setting. 13"His
cheeks are like a bed of balsam, Banks of
sweet-scented herbs;
His lips are lilies Dripping with liquid
myrrh. 14 "His
hands are rods of gold Set with beryl;
His abdomen is carved ivory Inlaid with
sapphires. 15"His
legs are pillars of alabaster Set on pedestals
of pure gold; His appearance is like Lebanon
Choice as the cedars. 16"His
mouth is full of sweetness. And he is
wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is
my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."

6 Mutual Delight in
Each Other

1"Where has your
beloved gone, O most beautiful among women?
Where has your beloved turned, That we
may seek him with you?"

2"My beloved has
gone down to his garden, To the beds of balsam,
To pasture his flock in the gardens And
gather lilies. 3"I
am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, He who
pastures his flock among the lilies."

4"You are as
beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as
Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners.
5"Turn your eyes
away from me, For they have confused me;
Your hair is like a flock of goats That have
descended from Gilead. 6
"Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have
come up from their washing, All of which
bear twins, And not one among them has lost her
young. 7"Your
temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind
your veil. 8"There
are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And
maidens without number; 9But
my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her
mother's only daughter; She is the pure
child of the one who bore her. The
maidens saw her and called her blessed, The
queens and the concubines also, and they praised her,
saying,

10`Who is this
that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the
full moon, As pure as the sun,
As awesome as an army with banners?' 11
"I went down to the orchard of nut trees To see
the blossoms of the valley, To see whether the
vine had budded Or the pomegranates had
bloomed. 12"Before
I was aware, my soul set me Over the
chariots of my noble people."

"Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, As at
the dance of the two companies?

7 Admiration by the
Bridegroom

1"How beautiful
are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter!
The curves of your hips are like jewels,
The work of the hands of an artist. 2
"Your navel is like a round goblet Which
never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is like a
heap of wheat
Fenced about with lilies. 3
"Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a
gazelle. 4"Your
neck is like a tower of ivory, Your eyes like
the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim;
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which
faces toward Damascus. 5
"Your head crowns you like Carmel, And the
flowing locks of your head are like purple threads;
The king is captivated by your tresses. 6
"How beautiful and how delightful you are, My
love, with all your charms! 7
"Your stature is like a palm tree, And your
breasts are like its clusters. 8
"I said, `I will climb the palm tree, I will
take hold of its fruit stalks.' Oh, may your
breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the
fragrance of your breath like apples, 9
And your mouth like the best wine!"

"It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep.

The Union of Love

10"I am my
beloved's, And his desire is for me. 11
"Come, my beloved, let us go out into the country,
Let us spend the night in the villages. 12
"Let us rise early and go to the vineyards;
Let us see whether the vine has budded And
its blossoms have opened, And whether
the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give
you my love. 13"The
mandrakes have given forth fragrance; And over
our doors are all choice fruits, Both new
and old, Which I have saved up for you, my
beloved.

8 The Lovers Speak

1"Oh that you
were like a brother to me Who nursed at my
mother's breasts. If I found you
outdoors, I would kiss you; No one would despise
me, either. 2"I
would lead you and bring you Into the
house of my mother, who used to instruct me; I
would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my
pomegranates. 3
"Let his left hand be under my head And his
right hand embrace me."

4"I want you to
swear, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not arouse
or awaken my love Until she pleases."

5"Who is this
coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her
beloved?"

"Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There
your mother was in labor with you, There she was
in labor and gave you birth. 6
"Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal
on your arm. For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are
flashes of fire, The very flame of the
LORD. 7"Many waters
cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it;
If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly despised."

8"We have a
little sister, And she has no breasts;
What shall we do for our sister On the day when
she is spoken for? 9
"If she is a wall, We will build on her a
battlement of silver; But if she is a door,
We will barricade her with planks of cedar."

10"I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers; Then I became
in his eyes as one who finds peace. 11
"Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He
entrusted the vineyard to caretakers. Each one
was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
12 "My very own vineyard
is at my disposal; The thousand shekels
are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for
those who take care of its fruit."

13"O you who sit
in the gardens, My companions are
listening for your voice--
Let me hear it!"

14"Hurry, my
beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag
On the mountains of spices."

The Holy Bible, New American
Standard Version (c)1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by the Lockman
Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved. Words
identified as being spoken by Jesus are in red.www.BibleABC.net